Bitter Betrayal
by AnimeAddict1059
Summary: Toph accepts Aang's offer and moved to Republic City with her family but sadly, her husband dies and Toph struggles to do her job and raise her children, Kian and Lin, alone. But Kian get's kidnapped and Toph suffers again. With Lin as her only family left, Toph tries her best to protect her. But when Lin joins the police force, she meets an Equalist who looks very familiar...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Okay! First of all, I'd like to give a special heads up to **fm94** and **lenzinforever** for giving me such great ideas! Thanks you guys!

**And this is for one, KiyumiArashi for giving me awesome ideas, VERY helpful suggestions, and supporting this story. Thanks for all that and ALL the other stuff you've contributed. I LOVE YOUR IDEAS! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!**

Okay, now let's get this story started!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Years had passed since the Hundred-Year War and the four nations were at peace once again. Firelord Zuko and Avatar Aang had maintained peace throughout the world and built a city where Aang believed to be the center of peace and harmony in all of the nations. They named it Republic City. They built it from scratch and made it a safe haven where benders and non-benders could live together in harmony and prosperity. Soon, the city began to prosper and more and more people came to live there.

Aang built his very own home in Republic City, on an island. He built an Air Temple on it and took in non-benders who were genuinely curious about Airbending cultures. They helped in maintaining everything in the island and at the same time, they received lessons from the Avatar himself. They were devoted people who were willing to change their lifestyles just to learn the ways of the Air Nomads.

Years after, the city was now full of life and it indeed prospered. More buildings were built, each higher and better than the ones before. New methods of technology were invented and non-benders lived their life happily with these new inventions, thinking that these were some ways that would at least, put them on par with the benders in the city.

For many years, it continued to be peaceful. Until, one day, gangs began to appear and a series of crimes spread throughout Republic City. Both Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko thought that someone has to keep the city safe from these crimes. The crime rate has been steadily rising in the past few months and they thought that someone had to lay down the law. They needed someone to keep Republic City safe and keep the crimes at bay.

And Aang finally thought up a solution. He knew the perfect person for the job...

...

...

...

"WHAT?!"

The Avatar scratched the back of his head and approached the person sitting on the couch slowly. He sat down and looked at the woman on the couch. "Toph, I'm serious."

That's right. He needed Toph Beifong. She was the most perfect person for the job. Aang was sure that keeping an entire city safe was no problem for Toph. After all, she IS the greatest earthbender he had ever met, also a strong one at that. And she was also the very woman who invented metalbending at the age of twelve and defeated countless of firebenders and other enemies single-handedly during the Hundred-Year War. And now, she constructed a school of metalbending so she can share her newfound knowledge. Who else would be better for the job?

"Okay, okay... so you're telling me, that I have to leave my school, tell my family to pack up, give up this amazing house, and move to Republic City just so I can chase around teenagers who cause trouble all around the city? That's got to be the craziest idea you've had!" Toph screamed at him.

"Aw... c'mon Toph. We really need you back there!" Aang said. "Look, you can build another house in the city. There's plenty of space! You can build another metalbending school there! And you can contact your old students and ask them if they're interested in joining the Police Force or teaching in the Academy. We still have to get some new recruits to join the Force and it'll take about a few more years to get it in absolute shape but c'mon! You're the only one who can do this! You're the greatest earthbender/metalbender ever in all of history!"

"Now that last part, I liked. But Twinkle Toes, I just can't leave everything behind here. What about the school HERE? Did you ever consider that? It has to be active. The more there are metalbenders here, the better. It's not like I can leave the place with some caretakers like I'd do with this house."

"Wait... say what? So, you're really going? It sounds like it at the last part of your speech." Aang said, perking up.

Toph sighed. "Yes... I'll go..."

"WOHOOOO-Ow!"

Toph smacked Aang. "I'll go IF you make sure that this place will be taken care of. Make sure the school here will be in good hands by tomorrow and you'll see me in Republic City in two weeks. I'd also like my new house to be just like this one. Got it? And the new Metalbending Academy? Make sure it'll be at least started it's construction when I get there."

"Yes ma'am!" Aang said as he rubbed his arm. That punch Toph gave him really hurt. "Toph, I'd like to have the blueprints of this house and of the Metalbending Academy, if you don't mind. We have a lot of constructing to do."

Toph waved at him. "Get it from Kui later. He's the one who made them and he's the one who keeps them."

"But Toph! I can't just wait for your husband to return! Who knows when he'll be back?!"

"I'm back!" a voice said from the door.

Toph smirked at Aang. "You were saying?"

Aang held up his hands in defeat and flopped back on the couch. Kui arrived minutes later and he was carrying a lot of rolled paper. He set them down and he went over to Toph and kissed her cheek. Toph smiled at him and told him to sit down. Kui did so and he noticed Aang.

"Wait a... is that you Aang?" Kui said, a smile creeping up on his face.

"The one and only!" Aang said as he extended his hand for Kui to shake. Kui took it and they shook hands and exchanged a short hug.

"Hey man. It's been a while hasn't it?" Kui said.

"Yeah... the last time I saw you was about... three months ago? On your birthday... right?" said Aang.

"Yeah. That's right." Kui said, chuckling. "So... what brings you here?"

"Ah... actually, I offered Toph a job up at Republic City as the Chief of Police. The gangs all over the city had become quite unbearable lately. Their mischief intensifies every week. They even took it up a notch last week when they started robbing people around the city. We really need someone to protect the citizens and keep those gangs and their crimes at bay."

"So she'll just be chasing around some teenagers all over the city?" Kui asked.

"Well... teenagers who can bend."

"And you... agreed to this?" Kui asked Toph, his expression becoming worried.

The thirty-year old woman just shrugged and said, "The old gang needs my help. I can't just turn them down. After all, I have to contribute something to Republic City."

"But... what about the house? And the Metalbending Academy? We worked so hard to build them. Don't tell me you're just going to throw it all away."

"I'm not throwing them away!" Toph said with her voice slightly raised. "I'd never think of doing that. Ever. Aang made a promise to make sure it's in good hands. Both the house and the Academy. I can't just throw away what I've worked hard for so long."

Kui stared at her. "Well... gah! FINE! We'll go!"

"Haha! Yes!" Toph yelled triumphantly. "Thank you!"

Beside them, Aang was also celebrating. "So, does this mean I can pick you up in two weeks?"

"Yup! All of our stuff should've arrived at Republic City by then." Toph said.

"Okay! Now that that's settled, I need to go find someone to run your school. I'll be back for the blueprints later, Kui!" Aang said and took off, leaving the couple all alone.

"I never thought you'd agree that easily." Toph told her husband.

"Me neither. Must be Aang's charm with things. Besides, it's still on you."

"Huh?"

"You'll be the one watching over our son during the entire trip." Kui said evilly.

* * *

**Two weeks later...**

"Okay... since your house is still undergoing construction... you'll be staying here on the island. We've provided your rooms inside the house." Aang said as he helped Toph come down from Appa. Kui had taken their son, Kian in his arms and some bags.

"Man! I haven't been here for a long time!" Toph said as she jumped down. Aang followed her a few minutes later.

"Yeah... been a while." Kui said, setting Kian down on the ground. Kian immediately ran around. Kui set down the bags and stretched his back. Toph went over to him and helped him with the bags. Aang stopped them and called some Air Acolytes over. They picked up the bags and left them as quickly as they came, heading inside Aang's house.

"You don't need to carry your bags. The Air Acolytes are here to do that." Aang said, gesturing them to come and follow him.

"Wow Twinkle Toes! You sure are living large here." Toph said.

"Well, they insist on doing it. Not my fault." Aang told her.

"Yeah but you don't stop it. Man, if I knew better, I'd say you're encouraging it." Toph chuckled as she entered the doors.

Aang just ignored her and let her walk inside and walked in after Kui and Kian. Toph and Kui immediately went to the living room. Aang followed them and he found Katara there as well as his children. His five-year old daughter saw him and she immediately ran towards him.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" she said as she hugged his knees.

"Hello, Kya! How's your day with mommy?" Aang asked her. The little girl giggled and looked up at him.

"Mommy gave us crayons and I draw pictures!" Kya reported. Aang laughed and picked her up. Katara approached them with their two-year old son, Bumi. "Yeah... REALLY messy pictures." Katara joked.

"Mom!"

Aang and Katara laughed while Kya pouted.

"Aw, c'mon baby, we were just joking!" Katara said.

"You're really mean..." Kya said, looking away from her parents. She noticed Toph, Kui and Kian on the couch. "Mommy? Daddy? Who are they?"

Aang, who was playing with Bumi, looked up and saw that Kya was referring to Toph and her family. Aang walked towards her and said, "That's your Aunt Toph. Don't tell me you've forgotten about her! And that's your Uncle Kui too. And that's their son, Kian. You used to play a lot together."

"Huh?"

Aang chuckled and nudged her forward. "Well, say hi."

Kya shyly held up her hand and said, "Hi..." to the floor.

"Hey, kid!" Kui said. "Wow, look at you! Have you gotten taller?"

Kya perked up at this and said, "I have! And I grew a lot taller! Mommy says it was because of the milk!"

"Wow! Kian doesn't even finish his milk." Kui said. "Look, Kian! Kya finishes her milk. You should too."

"Don't wanna!" Kian said.

Kya's eyes lit up when she saw Kian. She ran over to him and shook his hand. "Hey! Your name's Kian, right? Let's play! Let's play! Come on!" Kui let go of Kian and set him down. Kya took his hand in hers and they went over to the small rug on the floor where Bumi was playing with some stuffed toy versions of the gang. Kya gave Kian a Toph doll and said, "You're gonna be Auntie Toph! I'm gonna be mommy and then we'll talk and have a bending battle!"

"Why do I haffta be mommy?" Kian said, holding up Toph's doll and looking at it weirdly.

"You don't really have a choice, you know. You see, Bumi's already drooled on the other dolls." Kya said and gestured to Bumi, who was chewing on the Sokka doll. The other ones, Aang, Zuko and Suki, were lying on the floor and were sopping wet.

"Besides, I love playing as my mommy! She's really cool when she bends!" Kya said.

Kian looked at the Toph doll, then at his mother, then back at the doll. Now that he thought about it, his mom really was strong. He had seen her beat a lot of people to a pulp in just a matter of seconds and just walk away like nothing happened. She was the strongest woman he knew and she was also the greatest earthbender ever. Not to mention she was a metalbender. She even SCARES THE AVATAR himself!

"Fine. I'll pway my mommy." Kain said and positioned his doll. Kya smiled and she positioned the Katara doll too and then they started playing. Pretty soon, they were throwing words at each other like Toph and Katara used to and even started a small fight and pretend bending with the dolls. After the "bending battle", they really started to get into character.

Kian, who had bangs like Toph that covered his eyes, got a short cloth from spirits-knows-where and tied it on his head, like Toph does. He then looked up at Kya and swiped at his nose cockily. "What awe you lookin' at, loopies?"

Kya, who fashioned her hair like Katara's, crossed her arms. "Stop that, _Toph_... why don't you just wash your feet?"

"Never!"Kian yelled and waved his arms, like Toph does when she bends. In reality, he was just throwing some pillows at Kya. Kya dodged some of them but she still managed to get hit by a few.

"You'll pay for that!" Kya said and whipped the blue cloth she tied to her wrists at Kian. Kian kept getting hit by her attack so he raised up a huge pillow to act as a shield.

"You can't hide behind that Earth Wall forever Toph!" Kya yelled as she kept hitting the pillow. "I'll bring that wall down!"

"I'd wike to see you twy!" Kian said from behind the pillow. Kya kept hitting the pillow and Kian eventually gave up and ran. Kya ran after him and the short bending battle eventually turned to a game of tag, then hide and seek, then another bending battle, tent house, then another game of tag. By the time it was dark, Kian and Kya were found by their parents asleep under a tree near the house's entrance. It seemed like they had become great friends in such a short time.

* * *

**Over 1 Year later...**

The Police Force in Republic was at last 100% complete. They had a lot of recruits and although about 70% of them were Earthbenders right now, Toph was sure that in a few years, they'll have a Police Force with only metalbenders. The new recruits were still in training and the only ones who were assigned big missions were the metalbenders. The earthbenders were still learning metalbending along with the students from the Academy.

Of course, along with the completion of the Police and the Academy, the gangs' activities were lessened. The second the Police Force finished construction, Toph immediately rounded up a lot of gangs in just a week. Peace was quickly brought upon Republic City and Aang immediately knew that he was definitely right when he chose Toph as the Chief of Police.

Toph's husband Kui, also helped Toph out in the Police Force. He was the one who designed their uniform and he was also the one who made the bueprints for the station. He invented metal chords that he gave to Toph as a weapon. Toph was very thankful for these chords. It was such a great help in rounding up gangs and gave more pain, which was what Toph needed and only admired about the thing. Right now, Kui was in the middle of making an airship for the Police's use. He was trying to figure out ways to attach a lot of weapons and add a lot of defence to it without letting it sag down in all the weight. Also, he needed a lot of space for the airship for the police to sit at or stay at. He wanted to at least fit around 50-70 people in it. And it was proving to be a really tough challenge.

Today, Toph was at work as usual. She was really getting used to her routine. Wake up really early, drink a cup of coffee, prepare for work, spend some time with her family for a few minutes, go to work, work until late at night, or midnight, or early mornings if the station gets really busy, if she gets released early she would be the one to pick up their son on Air Temple Island, ( it seemed like Kian didn't mind being left on Air Temple Island as he was getting along great with Aang's kids ) if she was late, she would just go straight home and check on her son in his room, then go to her room and sleep.

Today, however, the esteemed Chief of Police was... nervous. Extremely nervous. The other officers noticed it immediately but were too afraid to mention it in front of her. Nobody had the courage to point out things to Toph whenever she was nervous or serious or angry ( especially the angry part ) or even speak to her for that matter.

Kui arrived at the station at noon that day. He was about to give Toph a detailed report about the airship. It still wasn't quite ready yet but he could feel that it just needed bit more... something... and some more time to think and stuff and then the airship will be ready. Well, after a few test tries. But test tries were still far from their reach right now.

"Hey Toph!" Kui said as he closed the door to her office. Toph, who was bending the meteorite bracelet Sokka gave her absentmindedly and a bit nervously, looked up and her expression showed that she was clearly surprised.

"Oh... it's you..." Toph said.

Kui looked at her, confused at her tone. "Uh... yeah. It's me."

"Sorry, Kui. Just a lot of stuff on my mind right now..." Toph said. Actually, she only had one thing on her mind. And the problem was she had to tell her husband about it but she was too nervous, still she needed to do it. She just didn't know what to say or do.

"Well... if you're busy then, I could just tell you at home or I'll come back tomorrow." Kui told her.

"N-No... um... Kui, it's nothing. You can stay and give the report about the airship." Toph said to him.

"Toph? Is everything alright?" Kui asked. He noticed Toph's movements and there was a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"I told you... It's nothing. Um... the report?" Toph told him.

Kui placed a hand over hers and squeezed it tight. "Toph, there's something wrong. Come on. Tell me."

Toph bit her lip. Should she just spit it out? She could remember what happened when the exact same thing happened years ago and it was not pretty. Kui squeezed her hand again. "Toph?"

Toph let out a small whimper and she was very surprised that she could even produce such a sound. "K-Kui...?"

"Yeah?"

"K-Kui... I..."

"Yes?"

"K-Kui I... I'm..."

"You're... what?"

"I'm... I'm..."

"You're what? Come on. Tell me."

"I'm..." Toph said and mumbled something.

"Sorry?"

"I'm... *gulp* I'm p-pregnant"

Kui looked at her in shock.

"K-Kui...?"

Kui didn't answer. He was still staring at her in shock.

"Kui?"

Kui didn't say anything. He looked as if he was paralyzed. Top sighed and got up from her desk and walked to her husband and stood in front of him. Once she was sure she was at least in front of him, Toph raised her hand up and slapped him. This definitely did the trick.

"Ow! What was that for?" Kui said, rubbing his cheek.

"You were spacing out!"

"Well, sorry! I was just... shocked..." Kui said.

"Yeah, I can see that." Toph told him. "W-Well...?"

Kui's shocked expression suddenly turned into a smile. "What do you think I'm supposed to feel? Of course I'm happy! Finally Kian's going to have a little sister!"

"Hey! I'm still a month pregnant you know! What makes you so sure that it's gonna be a girl?"

"I just know..."

* * *

**A few months later...**

"Toph! I really don't think you should - Toph!" Kui yelled as Toph stumbled on one of their son's toys. He was immediately at her side and caught her, not that Toph needed it.

"I can handle myself! Sheesh!" Toph said as she stomped down her foot to bring the earth pillar she had made earlier to break her fall before Kui made it to her side.

"But Toph. You're eight months pregnant. Could you just, at least... I don't know... behave like all other pregnant women?"

"Look, just because I'm pregnant right now, doesn't mean you have to dote on me. You know perfectly well that I am capable of taking care of myself." Toph said, sitting down on the couch.

"Fine... fine... But take care of yourself! Especially to my precious Lin. Isn't that right baby?" Kui said, placing a hand on Toph's huge stomach.

Toph swatted his hand away and said, "Stop naming it Lin! What if you get stuck on it and then it turns out this kid is actually a boy? The poor kid's gonna be teased for being called with a girl's name."

"Right. Right. Sorry." Kui said, putting his hands up to show that he had surrendered. Kui looked at the clock on the wall and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Uh-oh! Toph, I'm running late! The airship's test run is today! Shoot!" He got up quickly and ran frantically around the house in search of his socks. After he was ready, he gave Toph a quick peck on the cheek and ruffled his son's hair. Kian arrived in the living room when he heard his father screaming for socks.

"I'll be back by dinner! I promise! We'll just be taking it for a spin around Yue Bay. Love you!" he said as he went out of the door. Toph and Kian waved at him and watch him disappear.

A smile crept up to Toph's mouth when she heard her husband's excited tone. He had worked so hard for that airship for several months and finally, FINALLY he was able to do a test run of what he liked to call, his greatest work yet.

"C'mon kiddo. Let's go in." Toph said to her son.

**That night...**

Toph looked out of the window worriedly. When she asked her son on what time it was, he said that it was already night. Their family dinner time was usually really early in the evening but she asked Kian that question hours before. She was getting increasingly worried. Her husband never breaks a promise. Ever since they met, he never did break a promise. But their agreement was that he would be back by dinner and it was already late.

"Where is he?" Toph asked to no one in particular. She was getting a pretty sick feeling inside of her and she was very certain that it wasn't the baby. It almost felt like something bad was happening right now. She even felt her gut squirm inside of her and a small nagging feeling kept telling her that it was about Kui. It felt like something bad happened to him. Toph shuddered at the thought.

She suddenly felt footsteps approaching her house. From the sound of it, the person was running. A few minutes later, her door banged open and she felt a heartbeat. It was beating furioustly and quickly. Toph turned her head to the new visitor.

"What is it?" Toph asked him.

"C-Chief... I..." So, he was an officer, huh?

"What is it, officer?"

"C-Chief... it's about the a-airship..."

Toph's expression fell and she felt her heart freeze at those words. _'Oh no... What about the airship? What happened? Is Kui alright?'_ These thoughts ran through Toph's head.

"W-What...?"

"C-Chief... the airship experienced technical difficulties by the time it arrived at Yue Bay... The engine failed them and there was an explosion and... Chief... it all happened so fast... I... the airship... it... it went down... and... and it fell... straight into Yue Bay... Chief..." the officer looked at her sadly. "Chief... there... there were no reported survivors... the airship exploded the moment it came in contact with that cliff near the bay... I'm so sorry Chief..."

* * *

**A/N:** Now how about that people! What do you think about that? Pretty long chapter 1 if I do say so myself. So, what do you guys think? Need clarifications or something? This is another multi-chapter story and I know, I know, I've got five stories to finish now... But hey, I like this idea.

Again, I wanna say thank you to **fm94**, **linzinforever**, and of course, **KiyumiArashi**. Thank you guys so much!

**R & R !**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A few hours had passed since Kui's funeral. Everyone who attended it were now gone and were now safe inside their own homes. Everyone in Republic City was mourning. They had 62 people on that airship. Sixty-two people who had left their families so suddenly. Out of those 62, only 17 were found. And one of them was Kui. Republic City's resident inventor/architect/engineer and the husband of the city's Chief of Police, Toph Beifong.

When they had announced that they found the body, the gang, minus Toph, went to retrieve it. Toph was still in shock about the sudden news of her husband's death and seeing his body would only confirm it. She at least wanted to "see" him one last time… but she was scared of going there and she would never hear her husband's cheerful voice or his laugh or his steady heartbeat that kept a gentle rhythm. Never again would that sound enter her ears and never again would she sense his presence.

The gang didn't know what to do with their friend. When they retrieved Kui's body, Toph never showed her face to anyone, even to her son. Naturally, they were all worried about her. She wasn't eating properly and she just locked herself in her room all day. Not to mention that she was pregnant and they were very worried. If she keeps up this attitude then the baby will also be harmed. They tried to talk to her but they didn't get any response. Even little Kian tried knocking on his mother's door but still, Toph refused to answer.

Until finally, the day of the funeral came and Katara, who was tired of Toph's behavior, stormed into her house and forcibly dragged her outside. She made her wear something less... messy... and cleaned Toph up. Katara was very surprised to see that her eyes were red and puffy. _She's been crying._

"Oh Toph..." Katara said softly as she caressed Toph's cheek. Toph didn't even flinch and acted like she didn't notice Katara at all.

Katara gathered up their belongings and again, dragged Toph towards the cliff up at Yue Bay. It was partially destroyed because of the unfortunate incident days before. They chose the place wherein they would build the memorial to those men who died on what everyone dubbed, "Crash Day" at where they really crashed at. The place was cleared and a large white marble slab was placed near the cliff's edge, like it was overlooking the sunset and the rest of the city.

The ceremony started and still, Toph didn't move a single muscle. Her face was devoid of all emotion and she was blocking out almost anything she senses or hears. Her son, who hadn't seen her for the past few days, stuck close to her but Toph didn't acknowledge his presence. Kian sniffled in his mother's clothes, inhaling her scent. It's been a while since he got to smell her scent. In all those days when Toph was mourning, Kian often waited outside Toph's bedroom door and stared at it, wishing he could just see through it or melt it away with his gaze. He would even bring her food and fall asleep outside and he always woke up to find that the food he brought was still there. This made Kian sad and he began to question his relationship with his mother. Seeing as Toph wasn't coming out of her room any sooner, Sokka and Suki took in Kian and let him stay in their house for the past few days. But still, Kian visited his mother everyday to make sure she's still there or to check if she showed signs of eating yet.

Kian looked up at his mother's blank expression and he saw her red and puffy eyes. The little five-year old didn't quite understand what was going on but he could tell that it was something about his dad. Ever since his dad left that day, he never came back and Kian thought that it might be the reason why Toph was crying. He didn't know where his father was but something inside him told him that he wasn't going to come back anymore. They even had a picture of his dad placed on the big slab of marble along with some men he didn't know. Kian didn't know why but all of the people around him were crying and giving each other words of comfort. Nobody even told him what was going on.

Pretty soon, everyone who attended the funeral left and the few people left were family members of those who died. The gang lingered for a few minutes, watching Toph standing motionlessly in front of the memorial. She eventually turned around and walked towards them. No words were exchanged and not a single tear was shed. This surprised the rest of them but not Katara. She knew Toph. She knew that she got tired of crying and maybe she realized that it never did anything. No matter how hard she cried, she knew that Kui was never coming back.

The journey to Air Temple Island was very quiet and gloomy. They all trudged into Aang's house and waited in the living room. Katara left them to prepare some tea. The children were left to themselves. The adults were too sad and gloomy to interact with them. Pretty soon, Katara arrived with the tea and distributed one for every person in the room. It was so quiet. Not even Zuko, who usually comments on EVERY person's tea, made a sound.

"Aang, where's Toph?" Katara asked as she held a single cup of tea which was meant for the blind earthbender.

"She's outside... I'm worried. She's not eating, she isn't talking, and from the looks of it, she lacks sleep. Is she even aware that she's pregnant?" Aang said.

"I'll go and talk to her..." Katara said as she set down the owner-less tea. However, Sokka stopped her and he stood up.

"I'll talk to her Katara." he said calmly.

"You sure?"

Sokka nodded calmly and made his way outside to where Toph was "staring" at Yue Bay with a blank expression on her face. Sokka approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. This earned him a little flinch from Toph. Toph turned around to face him.

"Sokka? What are you doing here? You surprised me." Toph said.

"Toph... come inside. Please...?" Sokka said to her and placing both his hands on her shoulders. He shook Toph but she seemed unfazed.

"Sokka... just leave me alone please?" Toph said as she swatted his hands away. She walked away from him but Sokka followed her.

"Toph... please. We're all worried. Please come inside." Sokka said.

"I said leave me alone Sokka!" Toph said with her voice slightly raised.

"Toph... we know how you feel. Come on. Don't you wanna talk about it?" Sokka asked her.

"**_You_**_ know what I feel? _I just lost my husband Sokka! You'll never know how I feel!" Toph screamed at him.

"I know you're really upset about it - "

"Upset? Upset?! That's how you describe how I feel?" Toph yelled.

"Come on... you know what I mean Toph! I know he was a big part in your life. I know. It's natural to feel that way. That's what Katara and I felt when we lost our mother too!" Sokka said to her. "We were... you know... we acted like you, right now. So it's only natural Toph. But you have to pull yourself together. Like us. We realized that there was no use in moping around for someone who was never coming back. When dad left us because he had to help in the war, we were all still grieving but dad pulled himself together because he knew there was still the future ahead. He knew that our mom would be sad if she knew that we were all just sitting around, crying for her. So we pulled ourselves together and continued with our lives like mom would want us to. I'm sure that's what Kui would want, too. He's a fun guy and I'm sure he wouldn't like it if he would see you sad like this everyday."

"You continued with your lives? And what about your mother? You seem to have forgotten about her. Katara's not even wearing that necklace she said was your mother's anymore." Toph said. "That's what you want me to do? Forget about Kui?"

"Toph... we never forgot about our mother. We knew she still lived on inside us and she was watching over us from the spirit world. That's what Aang believes too. He lost all of his friends and teachers and all the other Air Nomads. He even went to the Avatar State when he found out! But he... come on, say it with me... PULLED HIMSELF TOGETHER."

"He's watching over me?" Toph asked.

"Always. Right now even. Come on Toph..." Sokka said, taking her hands in his and attempted to lead her to the house. But he was surprised when he saw Toph's shoulders shake. "Toph...?"

Toph sniffled a little and Sokka almost backed away. There was no way that Toph Beifong could have sniffled. She doesn't even do emotional moments. Heck, she didn't even cry on her wedding day. She never liked tears. Well, except when Kian was born. That was one of the times Sokka saw her so… vulnerable. That was saying something because Toph was unfazed at almost everything you threw at her. "T-Toph?"

"...I'm sorry..." she said softly, her voice cracking.

"Huh?"

"I'm so sorry. To everyone. I'm so sorry. I made you all worry. Even Kian..." a tear escaped her eye and rolled down her cheek.

"It's okay Toph..."

"But what am I going to do now Sokka? Kui's gone. I can't do this all alone."

"You're never alone Toph... I'm here... our friends are here. We're all here for you. We'll never leave your side."

Toph wiped her tears away. Sokka watched her sadly and hugged her. Toph froze at first, but she eventually relaxed in his arms.

"You know what you should be focusing on right now?" Sokka asked her.

"What?"

"This baby." Sokka said as he touched Toph's rounded belly.

"What? This little bugger? She's tough. We can handle ourselves." Toph said in her old voice. Sokka smiled at her.

"Good to have you back Toph." He said. "Wait-What? Since when did you start calling it 'she'? Last time I checked, you were saying that it would be another boy."

Toph smiled at him. _"I just know..."_ she said, remembering Kui's words.

* * *

**A few months later...**

Toph hummed an Earth Kingdom song as she went through the tiny metal objects on her desk. She was finally back in her office after so many months of being cooped up at home because of her pregnancy. She wanted to go right into action right away when she came back but no…. the other officers just _had_ to have her sit down on her desk and just have her approve some missions or listen to reports or have a councilman bore her to sleep inside her office. It was times like these that she wished that she would rather be back in her house, watching over her little badgermoles as they wrecked the house.

She gave birth about five months ago and she was very happy when Kui's prediction that it might be a girl came true. It was another time that she cried shamelessly in front of her friends. She named her Lin. Like what her father had fondly called her when she was still inside her. When she asked Katara about her daughter's appearance, she was a little shocked when she said that she looked a lot like Kui. They said she had too much of Kui's features but they could still distinguish a few of Toph's in her. She, like Kian, had Toph's bright green eyes. And even though it still wasn't too clear yet, they could tell that Lin had wavy hair like Kui had but her hair was dark. Like her mother's and her older brother. Toph chuckled. Well, Kui had to have his own turn. After all, Kian looked a lot like Toph, or so she was told. He had bangs covering his face like Toph and the hair on the back part of his head was spiky. His features were smooth and so much like Toph's. Katara said that Kian's eyebrows were like Kui's while Sokka said the shape of Kian's entire face was like hers. Aang said that Kian had her eyes. The exact same shape and size and the shade of green. Lin's eyes were a bit pointy like Kui's had been but just a little. The difference wasn't that big a deal.

Kian didn't have any problems with his new sister. In fact, he loved her! He would always climb up on a stool and peek over Lin's crib and watched as she slept. Or when Lin cries, he would immediately be at her side and comfort her. He always played with her and did his best to make Lin happy. Toph couldn't help but smile when she hears her children's voices full of laughter and happiness as they played together.

"Chief?"

Toph turned her head towards the door where she heard the sound come from. "What?"

"There's a minor gang robbery happening downtown. All we have there are some newbies. They requested back-up. And probably a wagon."

Toph sighed. "Isn't there something bigger where I could go to? A minor gang robbery? Really?"

"Chief. We just want you to take things easy on your first day. You can do whatever you want tomorrow." The officer said.

Toph sighed. "Whatever. I'm goin'. I'd rather catch amateur gangs than sit around in this office all day."

"Chief!"

* * *

**Eight Years Later…**

"I'm home!" Toph said as she closed the door to her house. She didn't leave the kids at Air Temple Island for today because Katara said she was free. Toph let her babysit the kids in her house. Of course, if Katara was babysitting, then her kids would also come over. Toph was a little confident now, at least. Kian was now thirteen years old and Lin was eight. She was comfortable in leaving them alone in the house. If Katara or any of her friends would take them, she would usually wait for them to come before leaving. But now, since Kian was a little bit older, she can leave earlier.

Even if she was a little confident in Kian now, she would only leave early if she had an urgent meeting or event. Anything other than that and she was staying. Kian was already thirteen but he still didn't show any signs of being a bender. Although Toph would be over the moon about it if he was a bender, she supposed that Kian would be a non-bender since Kui was a non-bender. Kian didn't seem to mind about not being a bender. He and Bumi got along really well, both non-benders, both pranksters, both always getting into trouble. The two were practically inseparable. Sokka insisted on teaching them how to fight with swords and boomerangs and taught them minor things like how to device plans quickly and how to read maps. The boys excelled greatly in all the things Sokka taught them.

Lin, however, showed signs of Earthbending when she was still three. Toph was happy about this and trained her when she reached the age of four. Lin learned fairly quickly but she had her mother's stubbornness and they often get into little fights and Kian was the only one had the courage to stop them. Even Aang didn't dare get in between those fights. The old Avatar wanted to live a little bit longer, thank you very much. Sokka only hid behind the couch or leave them altogether.

"Mom!" Kian said as he stood up from the couch to hug her. Toph welcomed his hug. Lin saw them and she got up and ran towards them.

"Mama!"

"Lin! Oof!" Lin crashed herself straight to her stomach. Toph clutched it in pain but immediately stopped after she felt Kian looking at her.

"Oh! Welcome back, Toph." Said a voice from the kitchen. It was Katara and she was carrying a bowl of batter. She was baking something for the kids to eat after they draw or play. Kya, Bumi, and nine-year old Tenzin, were still sitting around the coffee table and drawing. "How was your day?"

"Eh, busy as always. Epecially since the trial was such a tragedy" Toph said.

"Yakone's?" Katara asked with worry.

"Don't worry Katara. I'm forty years old. I already proved how capable I am years ago. Besides, we've already got a lot of evidence against Yakone. We won, of course. Finally, _finally_ we caught him after years of him escaping from us. Well, he still got away. He..." said and she inclined her head towards the children near her. Katara understood and told the kids to go back to their drawings. Thankfully, they obeyed without asking too many questions.

"So... what did he do?"

"He... bloodbended."

Katara gasped and she clapped her hands to her mouth. "N-No... were any of you hurt?"

"All of us were. I think he got me pretty bad. Could you take a look at this?" Toph said.

"Let me see..." Katara said, moving closer to Toph. Toph swatted her away.

"Upstairs. The kids might be horrified if they see what happens." Toph said. Katara just noticed the strain in her voice and the amount of sweat forming on her forehead. The mask she was wearing was slowly breaking away and she saw the pain in her features. Katara helped Toph get up the stairs and into her room where she would heal her. Once inside, Toph slowly removed her metal uniform and Katara gasped.

Toph's body was covered in bruises. Purple, black, dark... some even had blood. Katara set Toph down on the bed and got her water and started to heal her.

"What happened exactly?" she asked as she moved the water over a particularly nasty bruise on Toph's right shoulder.

"After we won, Yakone stood up... I didn't know what happened exactly but I heard Sokka and... he was in pain... and then... everyone else... I tried to catch him but... he got and... he bloodbended me and... he made me get the keys to his handcuff... he made me release him... and... all I remember was... intense pain... I just woke up to Sokka shaking me. I was the last one to gain conciousness. Everyone else looked fine but I wasn't..."

"And… Aang was there?" Katara asked.

"Twinkle Toes? Well, yeah. Someone's got to be the extra security there. With my lily-livered officers, Yakone had a high chance of escaping. Aang went after him, he said. Caught him and took away his bending. Hopefully, everything becomes peaceful in Republic City after all this. Yakone was such a huge threat to it."

"You know, you ought to have more confidence in your own men."

"Aw... Is someone upset because I took her idiot with me?"

Katara snorted. "As if! But really, Toph. Have a little more faith in your officers."

"Meh, I'd rather have faith in a double-headed fish." Toph said as she sat back on the bed and rested her head on it. Man! This day had been exhausting.

Katara left her after she finished healing her. Thankfully, there wasn't a need to put bandages on her. Katara continued baking in the kitchen. Toph followed her a few minutes later and sat down on the couch. The kids were at the coffee table and were deeply immersed in their activities. Lin was talking about something with Kya and Kian was discussing something with Bumi. Mostly likely a new prank. Toph could only just smirk. Once those two start whispering there's bound to be a prank the next moment. She had to suppress a laugh when the memory of their last prank came to mind. Their victim was Sokka and he still was still afraid of boarcupines up to this day.

"Kids! The brownies are ready!" Katara's voice suddenly sounded from the kitchen.

"BROWNIES!" the kids yelled as they abandoned their drawings and ran to the kitchen. Kya, Bumi, and Kian were already there and Lin, being the youngest was last. Toph stood up from her position on the couch and went to the kitchen. Her nose had been picking up the delectable scent of those brownies ever since Katara took it out of the oven.

When she arrived, the kids were already stuffing their faces with brownies, even Kya, who was already fifteen. Toph grabbed the brownie Lin was about to eat and took a bite from it.

"HEY!" Lin yelled.

"Mmmm… I don't know what you do Katara, but I'm only sure of one thing. These brownies are the best!" Toph said after she gulped down the brownie. Beside her, Lin was pouting and glaring at Toph.

"Mama!" Lin said.

"What kiddo?" Toph said as she finished the rest of the brownie.

"That was mine!"

"So?" Toph said as she licked her fingers. "You can always get another one from the plate."

"Why didn't _you_ get one from the table? That was mine!"

"Meh, too late kid. It's gone now."

"MAMA!"

Toph and Lin went into an argument but Kian was too busy talking with Bumi to stop them. The mother and daughter argument became heated after a few minutes and they started chasing each other all around the house. Katara and the others could only watch them as they chased each other tirelessly for a few hours. Lin finally had enough and she chucked a rock at Toph.

"A rock? Really? Just for that brownie?" Toph said as she stopped the rock.

"YES! That was MY brownie!" Lin yelled and threw another rock at her mother.

"Honestly Lin. You're already eight. You're so immature." Toph said, dodging the rock.

"_I'm_ the one who's immature? _You_ were the one who took my brownie when there was a plate full of them on the table. You could've just gotten one!"

"That's my point! _You_ could've gotten another brownie after I took yours instead of yelling at me and chucking rocks. You're destroying the house, you know!"

"Gah! Grow up Mom!"

"You grow up!"

"STOP!" yelled Katara as she stepped in between them. She had her hands on Toph and Lin's mouths to stop them from talking. "Toph! You should know better than to do something that immature. You're already forty, for spirits sake!"

"Ha!" Lin said, removing Katara's hand from her mouth.

Katara looked at her. "That goes the same for you, young lady! Who chuck rocks at her own mother? Your mother did so much things for you and that includes bringing you into this world and taking care of you and she's the one who's there when you grow up. That's how you repay her? Chucking rocks at her?"

Lin looked away from Katara and started running to the living room and buried her face on a pillow on the couch.

"Wow, Katara… you made her cry…" Toph said. "She never cries when we fight."

"W-What? I…"

Toph held up a hand to stop her. "It's okay. She'll get over it. If there's something that I taught her its BEIFONGS NEVER CRY." She said, raising her voice on the last part so that Lin could hear her.

"Well, since your little…display killed some time, I guess I should prepare dinner." Katara said as she went back to the kitchen once again.

"Wait-What? Dinner? _That _much time passed while we were fighting? Whoa..." Toph said. "And why are you cooking dinner? Not that I'm suggesting it but, shouldn't you be leaving for Air Temple Island right about now? Aang would be very lonely."

"Nah, Aang said he was going to be late today. Avatar Business as usual. He isn't eating dinner at the island for today so… why not?"

"Oh, okay…"

Toph made her way to the living room to check on the kids and Lin. She still had her face buried on the pillow and Tenzin, who had tried to comfort her a few minutes ago, had been earthbended to the wall where we hung silently, waiting for help. He saw Toph and he immediately yelled, "Help!"

Toph chuckled and brought the rock that had been holding him up the wall, down. Tenzin thanked her and he ran from the room to where his siblings were. Toph let him leave and she approached the small figure lying face-down on the couch. Toph sat down and stroked her hair. Lin didn't budge.

"Lin. Come on. You still can't be _that_ mad?"

Lin didn't answer her.

"Oh come on. You know Katara. She's always Miss Fussy Britches an-"

"I _heard_ that!" Katara's voice sounded from the doorway.

"Yeah, yeah sweetness, go back to your pot." Toph said. "Anyways, she's always like that. I don't know what was worse. The Katara from when we were fourteen, or the Katara now and-"

"That too!"

"Just shut up for a few minutes will you?!" Toph yelled. "Anyway, what I'm saying is, you don't have to be too affected by her words. When I was still your brother's age, or was I younger? Gah! The point is, my secret on how to deal with Katara…" Toph said, craning her head dramatically from side to side as though she expected someone listening in to their conversation. Lin, who looked up just in time to see it, giggled. Toph leaned close to Lin. So close, in fact, that their foreheads almost touched. Then she said in a low whisper as Lin giggled at her, "… the secret, is to… IGNORE HER. Yup! That's it. Just ignore her. Simple, yes, but VERY effective and powerful. She used to scold me a lot, no, wait, she still does. But I just ignore her. She eventually gets tired and leaves me alone. Smart right?"

"That's what everyone but Aang and Tenzin does!" Lin said, rolling her eyes. "But I guess you're right, Mama. I let Auntie's words reach me when I should've just ignored her. Thanks Mama!" Lin said and hugged Toph. Toph smiled softly at this and she instantly wrapped her arms around her daughter.

"Yup. That's the way it is. Just ignore and get away…"

Toph and Lin spent the next few hours talking, playing, earthbending small objects, telling stories about their day, and about Kian. Even though they got older, Kian and Lin still had their close relationship. Kian was always very overprotective. Lin would sometimes think of him as annoying but when she thought about it, she realized that Kian just did it to protect her. They rarely see Kya, Bumi, and Tenzin simply because their parents don't have enough time to plan things out. Toph would often leave at home by themselves or bring them to work with here but such occurrences were rare. If someone needed babysitting on either side, the kids would be overjoyed. Today was like those hurried babysitting decisions. Toph was busy at the station and was needed badly there and the council and especially at the trial. She had been working later in the past few days and it was all because of Yakone.

"Guys! Dinner's ready!"

Toph sighed. "Well... let's go kid."

"Mama? Will you be going to work again tomorrow?" Lin asked from out of the blue.

"Not till noon. Why?" Toph said, surprised at her question.

"Oh... okay..."

"Oh? Why the sad tone?"

"You're always busy now. Can't you just... _not_ work?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that kid. I've gotta earn some money to keep you and your brother alive and healthy."

Lin giggled and they set off towards the kitchen. Everybody else was there and were once again, stuffing their faces with food. The dinner that Katara made was again, exquisite. She made a few vegetarian meals for Tenzin but everything else contained meat. Kya and Bumi were thankful for this. They haven't eaten meat in a while. Aang insisted that everyone should follow the vegetarian diet. Toph and Lin sat down on the two last vacant chairs and started eating. There wasn't much talk during dinner. Well, if you count Kian and Bumi's occasional whispering.

Kian and Bumi finished at the same time and went to the living room. Toph finished next and followed them. Kian noticed her enter and elbowed Bumi hard on the side. Bumi let out a cry of pain and glared at Kian. Kian shushed him and pointed at Toph. Bumi looked at the direction where he was pointing at and said, "Oh..."

"Kian, you know it's rude to point." Toph said, folding her arms and leaning on the doorway.

Kian flushed red and immediately placed his hand at his side. Bumi went stiff. Toph just chuckled and went closer to them. She placed her arms around their shoulders and smiled at them. "So... whatcha plannin? In case you've forgotten, I've got sensitive ears. No matter how low you keep your voices I can still hear you whispering to each other."

Bumi flinched and looked at Kian. Kian sighed and looked at Toph. "Mom? Can Bumi and I go to that shop downtown? We have to get some stuff."

"Oh?" Toph said, her eyebrows raising. "Stuff for what?"

"For... something..." Kian said.

"Hmm..." Toph said as she checked their heartbeats. _Well, they certainly aren't lying._ "Mah, sure. Why not?"

Kian and Bumi jumped up happily and high-fived.

"But" The boys stopped and looked at Toph. "I want the both of you to come back here by nine o'clock. Got it?"

"10" Kian said.

"9" Toph said pressingly.

"9:30"

"Fine."

Kian yelled triumphantly and dragged Bumi outside. Toph followed them out and waved at them. "Hurry back!"

"We will." Bumi shouted.

"I'll be sure to come back on time! I promise! Love you!" Kian yelled.

Toph froze. _Those words... they were Kui's... last..._

The horrible feeling she felt when she was waiting for her husband to come back that night once again settled in her stomach. _I'll be back... _but he never did... _I promise..._ but he broke it...

"Please come back... Kian... please keep that promise..."

* * *

**A/N:** Sup guys! Chapter 2! As promised. Sorry for not satisfying. I was gone, as I had posted on my profile, and I _did _bring my laptop but my teammated always borrowed it. Oh well. Typed this real fast. What do you guys think?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Wow, Kian! I didn't know you had that in you!" Bumi yelled as he walked side by side with Kian down the street. They were heading towards their favorite shop, 'Pranksterz AvaPalooza', where they got most of their prank supplies. This was also the place where they would hear snippets of conversations about pranks and the latest things. Kian and Bumi were different from the other pranksters though. Instead of absolutely relying on the easy-to-get supplies in the shop and pranks that other kids tell to their friends for them to copy, they come up with original ideas for pranks and use little-to-none stuff from the shop. They just improvise a lot and gather their supplies from some places like Air Temple Island, their own houses, useless junk that their parents throw out, just about anything they deem worthy of using in their next pranks. Less spending, more excitement, even more fun, extra hilarious, and overly satisfying.

"Had what in me?" Kian asked, looking at his friend who had his arms folded at the back of his head and was grinning as he walked confidently beside him.

"You know... all that, _'Can Bumi and I go to that shop downtown?'_ And she was all like, _'Oh?__'_ and you were like, so calm! And then when she told us to come back by nine, she was all, _'come back here by nine o'clock. Got it?'_ And you were like, _'Ten'_ and she was like, _'Nine'_. Dude! She sounded so scary at that part! But then, you were like, _'9:30'_. You sounded real cool. Boy... if that was me, I would've peed my pants! Doesn't she _scare_ you?"

"Who? Mom?" Kian said. "Nah. She isn't scary. She's really fun. It's _your_ mom that I'm scared of. She's an entirely different story."

"_My_ mom?" Bumi laughed. "Dude! She isn't scary at all! She's just... " Bumi's voice trailed off. "You're right. She _is_ scary. Well, at least she only becomes scary when she becomes real angry. Your mom's angry 24/7."

"Hey!"

"I didn't mean it like that! It's just that she always has that scowl on her face and I get a strange chill down my spine when I look up at her face and see her eyes seem like they're staring into mine." Bumi shivered.

"Tell me about it... I just don't have to deal with those eyes too. She just _has _to have seismic sense, doesn't she?" Kian said. "At least mom can control her mouth. She only reserves the screaming when the situation calls for it. But _your _mom, she screams all the time. Whether it's just orders or she's just happy about something. She's _waaayy_ too loud. I'm surprised you and your family haven't gone deaf already."

"Well, yeah... she's loud and all..."

"And a worry-wart."

"And a worry-wart..." Bumi sighed.

"_And_ overprotective."

"_Aaand_ overprotective..."

"But don't forget hysterical."

"Kian!"

Kian laughed. Bumi scowled at him as they stopped momentarily on a street corner while waiting for the carriages to stop passing down the street so they could cross. The shop was just across them now and they could hear the music playing inside and see the silhouettes of children walking around the shop through the stained glass window.

"My mom's not the only one who's hysterical you know. And she isn't _that_ overprotective. And she certainly does not worry too much." Bumi said indignantly.

"Yeah... not really. Face it dude."

Bumi ignored him and they crossed the street. Once they were safely across, Kian adjusted the green scarf he had on. It was a gift from Toph when he turned thirteen two weeks ago. He loved wearing it around his neck. It was a symbol that he belonged to a family of earthbenders and a symbol that he was part of a family that belonged in the Earth Kingdom. To him, Earth was the greatest element ever and he adored everything about earthbending and earthbenders. Wearing the signature green color felt extraordinary to Kian. Even though he wasn't a bender himself, he still felt a connection with the earth. It wasn't like the connection his mother and sister had with it. His was much fainter... like it was barely there at all... yet, however faint it was, he could still feel it.

Smiling just a little underneath the scarf, Kian closed his eyes and focused his thoughts on his surroundings. He kept his ears strained for that small beat he felt whenever he focused like this. He evened out his breathing and shut his eyes tighter. He wanted to feel the earth right now. It's presence was a great relief for him. He had to laugh mentally at that. He was becoming more and more like his mom. Focusing once again, Kian took a deep breath.

_Thump_

There it is. Kian sighed in relief when he realized that it wasn't just his heart. It was really the earth.

_Thump_

His smile grew wider. The earth comforted him greatly. It reminded him a lot of his mother.

_Thump_

"You coming?" Bumi said.

Kian blinked in surprise to see that they were now standing in front of the shop. Bumi was looking at him as he placed his hand on one of the door's handles.

"Kian...? Something wrong, bro?"

Kian shook his head and chuckled a little. Wow. He had been up in space. The thought of his dreamy expression as he walked the streets next to Bumi entered his mind and had him clutching his stomach in his laughter seconds after.

Bumi looked at his friend in utter shock. What happened to Kian while they were walking? One minute, they were all quiet and serious, and then the next, he was banging on the pavement with his fists as he laughed hard.

"Dude?"

Hearing his friend's voice, Kian looked up at him and he stood up shakily with a few rounds of giggles issuing from his mouth every now and then. Kian wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I-I'm... f-fine..." failing to stifle a laugh.

* * *

"Toph?"

The blind earthbender groaned as she heard her friend's voice ring out from the kitchen. She was about to drift off into a light nap, but NO, Sugar Queen just _had_ to wake her up and take away her sleepiness entirely. Grumbling, Toph sat up on the couch to try and face her friend.

Katara emerged from the kitchen and marched into the living room. She faced Toph with her arms folded out in front of her. "Toph... have you seen Bumi?"

"_Oh yeah... _I saw him... I SAW him _really clearly._" Toph said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Toph!"

"What? They said they wanted to go downtown so I let 'em!"

Katara moaned. "You didn't consider telling me?! I'm Bumi's _mother_! It should be me who'll decide whether or not he's allowed to go out. It's already getting late..."

"Stop worrying Katara. I told them that they should get their butts back here by 9:30. Relax." Toph said. She then went back to lay down on the couch.

Katara rolled her eyes at her friend at glanced at the wall clock.

_7:02 PM_

_Great..._ she had herself worried for nothing...

* * *

The front door of 'Pranksterz AvaPalooza' tinkled as it opened and two boys stepped outside, carrying one small bag whose contents were barely filling half of it. The street outside had completely changed. When they had left it to go inside the shop a mere two hours ago, it was so full of life and people, and carriages, and noise, and everything was bright. But now, it looked like a ghost town.

They turned back to the shop that they had just exited from and saw that the lights inside were now being turned off. It just clicked in their minds that they were the last customers. How could they have not realized?

"What...?" Bumi said as he looked around once again. Everything was so quiet and not fitting for the place. I mean, come on! It's Republic City Downtown!

Kian, however, seemed unfazed. "Come on Bumi. We have less than thirty minutes to get home." he said, getting hold of Bumi's hand and dragging him across the deserted street.

"What's wrong Kian? Why is everything so quiet? I don't understand." Bumi said.

"Keep your voice low and don't let go of my hand. Keep up with me Bumi." Kian said, gripping Bumi's hand tightly and sprinting off.

"Kian! What's going on? Why are we in such a hurry?"

"Bumi! Shh!" Kian said and he looked around frantically. He seemed to have heard something or saw something. Whichever it is, Bumi had no idea. All he knew was that Kian had suddenly dragged him to an alley and they hid behind a dumpster. Bumi looked up and saw fear on his friend's features. He had his hand clamped tightly on Bumi's mouth to prevent him from making a sound.

Bumi managed to take his hand off his mouth and whispered, "Kian. What's going on? Please tell me."

Kian looked around once more before answering Bumi. "We have to get out here quickly. The streets are deserted and there's only one explanation. There's a gang attack nearby or there's a gang strolling down the streets. If they capture us..."

Bumi's eyes widened in fear.

"Is that why we're hiding here?"

"I noticed that someone was following us. I had to lose him. The only thing is, I don't know if he passed us by or he's just waiting there." Kian said.

A cold sounding voice suddenly interrupted them.

"I'd choose option 2, kid."

Kian's eyes widened. There, standing a feet from them, was a tall silhouette of a man and about ten others behind him. All of them were wearing what looked like matching green outfits. Probably their gang uniforms. Kian let out a gasp of surprise when he saw the color they had chosen for their uniforms.

The noble color of green...

... used by strong and noble earthbenders for many generations...

... tainted...

... with their evil doings...

The one in the center had a demonic grin on his face as he approached the kids slowly. His comrades followed. All of them were laughing maliciously. Kian looked around frantically for an escape and he saw a slight hope. Grabbing Bumi's arm, Kian threw him up to the dumpster and into the garbage inside. The gang surrounding them stopped momentarily and looked at the dumpster.

Bumi emerged from it, looking dazed and confused as he looked at Kian. Kian yelled,

"WHAT'RE YOU WAITING FOR?! RUN!"

"What? But... what about... you?"

"Never mind! Go on! Get out of here!"

"But Kian!"

"No buts, Bumi! GO!"

Bumi stared at Kian for a few seconds and he could almost feel his tears coming on. Kian gave him a firm nod and Bumi understood. He had to do this. If he would be able to escape, then he could get help.

One of the gang members seemed to have snapped out of his shock and he flung a net over Bumi. Luckily, he managed to dodge it and it certainly sent him running out of the alley, no longer having doubts about leaving his friend.

"You!" the leader yelled to a nearby member. "And you! Follow him! Quick!"

Kian heard him and he immediately threw himself in front of the two who were given orders.

"I won't let you pass!"

The leader laughed. "_Really?_ What are you going to do? Stand there and just hold up your hand and yell 'Stop'? Huh?"

"That _would_ be an easier solution, now wouldn't it?" Kian said, smiling. "But... no... I'll take my chances of taking you on."

The gang members looked at each other.

"What?"

"Is he serious?"

"That kid?"

"He won't stand a chance!"

"I don't think he's even a bender!"

Kian took a deep breath and went into a fighting stance. He may not be good at this, but at least he was... well... able, to do it, as his Aunt Suki would say. She was the one who taught him martial arts and because his Uncle Sokka kept stealing him from her because he says 'swordfighting' and 'using the boomerang' is more important than doing fancy punches and kicks, his skill in this field wasn't as developed as his other skills.

Now that he thought about it, maybe he would punch Sokka in the face if he ever got out of this situation.

"Oho... gonna fight, are you?"

"Isn't it obvious enough, you old geezer?!"

The leader growled and he sent two of his followers to attack Kian. They did so and were surprised when they found themselves sprawled on the ground just moments after they thought that they would be attacking the kid. The leader snapped his fingers and more of his followers surrounded Kian. Taking a deep breath, Kian started punching, kicking, elbowing, dodging, and every single movement he could ever do just to make sure that he would at least survive and stay out of their reach.

But it seemed like luck just wasn't on his side. Even though he had managed to hold them off for a few minutes and landing a few strong blows on his enemies, he was getting quite out of breath and his movements were beginning to slow down. Whenever he caught someone slipping past him so that he would go after Bumi, he was immediately on that guy's tail and attacking him.

After a few more minutes of fighting, he was finally out of breath as he clutched his right shoulder which now sported a nasty bruise. The gang saw this as their chance so they immediately cornered Kian and brought out their ropes so that they could tie him.

Kian watched them as they drew closer, not even bothering to fight back anymore. He already knew that he lost. At least he was able to buy some time for Bumi to get help. But even if he _did_ manage to get help, he knew that he would've been too late to save him.

"Boss... what about the other kid?" a member asked as he finished tying the rope tightly around Kian. The leader thought about this for a moment before turning his back on them and walking away.

"Don't worry about the brat anymore." he said. "Let him tattle to his mother. This is just something... like a greeting and a warning to the Avatar. Besides," the man said, turning around to face Kian. "We've got the Chief's son right here."

As one of the men picked up Kian and slung him over his shoulder, his necklace, the one that his mother had given him a few years ago, fell to the ground but nobody noticed it. Kian was finally giving in to the blackness and he fell unconscious.

The necklace lay on the wet ground, it's silver frame glinting under a street lamp's light. And along with the frame, the small letters etched into the necklace shone for a few seconds, spelling out the name,

_Kian_

* * *

Katara was pacing back and forth on the living room floor. She kept glancing up at the wall clock. Toph told her that they would be coming back at 9:30 right? _Right?_

"Quit your worryin' already Katara! They've still got a few minutes... right?" Toph asked her friend.

Katara sighed. "Yes, Toph... they've still got time..."

Toph smiled. At least her prediction about the time was right. "See? Nothing to worry about. I'm sure everything's just fi-"

"MOM!"

Katara and Toph froze and they felt their stomachs drop when they heard the emotion riding in that voice. They immediately ran towards the door where they heard the scream from. Just as they arrived in front of it, it was thrown open by a small, and dirty, twelve-year old boy.

"Mom!"

"Bumi?!" Katara said as her son ran towards her and hugged her tightly. "Bumi? Why are you dirty? What happened? Where's Kian?"

Instead of the usual cheerful response that Bumi always gave, the two mothers were surprised when Bumi started sobbing in Katara's shoulders.

"Mom... I... I'm so... I'm so sorry..." Bumi's voice said shakily.

"Why? What happened?" Katara asked.

"K-Kian... he... he..."

Toph's eyes went wide. _What? What happened to her_ son?

Toph placed her hand on Bumi's shoulders and pried him off of his mother. She knelt in front if him and asked, her voice shaking, "What... What happened? Bumi. Tell me. What happened? Where's Kian?"

But Bumi just continued to cry and was getting increasinly loud by the minute.

Toph could feel tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "Bumi!" she said, shaking the young boy's shoulders. "Bumi! What happened?! Where's is he?! Where's Kian?! Tell me!"

Bumi didn't answer because he knew that his aunt wouldn't like the it.

"Bumi! Where's is he?! Tell me! Where's my son?!" she said, shaking Bumi's shoulders roughly now. Katara tried to stop her but she just swatted her hand away. "Bumi, Tell me! WHERE IS MY SON?! WHERE'S KIAN!"

"Toph..." Katara began but she was suddenly broken off by a small, shaky voice from her eldest son.

"...K-Kian... Kian's... he's... the... the gang..."

"Gang?" Katara gasped.

"GANG?!" Toph yelled. "What did they do?!"

"I... I don't... I don't know! Kian... Kian... he let me... he let me es... escape so... so I could get help... and... I... I don't know... I don't if he's... if he's okay... I'm sorry... I... I should've... I should've stayed..."

* * *

"Urgh... where am I?"

Kian tried to prop himself up as he looked around his surroundings. His vision was still a bit cloudy but he could make out some shapes walking past him. Everything else looked dark.

"W-Where am I?" he asked again.

As though he heard his question, a man came walking towards him and knelt in front of him.

"Well... it seems like our guest is awake."

Kian struggled as he tried to get free from the ropes binding him. The man just watched him. Sighing, Kian looked up at the man and said, "What do you want from me?"

"Oh... I've got a lot of reasons for taking you. For one, you'd be perfect for my revenge against Republic City. But the main reason that I'm keeping you here, is to get revenge for what your mother did to my _Sifu Yakone_!"

* * *

**A/N:** Oooohhhhh... whadddya guys think? Mwahahahahaha! THE EVIL VILLAIN MAKES HIS ENTRANCE! I'll introduce him properly in the next chapter don't worry. As for those of you who felt kind of... cheated in that part where Toph finds out that her son is gone... I guess you'll see more of Mama Toph next chapter.

And so the Hunt For Kian Begins...

Don't forget to review!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Alright! Chapter 4! Whoooopp! I've finally found an update pattern for ALL of my stories and this one is on number **four**. If you see my other stories erm... you could see the pattern. (Okay, that did not make sense) Anyways, It's like this:

**How I Update My Stories:**

**1.** Getting Out of His Shadow (Harry Potter fanfic)

**2.** I'm Better (Naruto fanfic)

**3. **A Chance? (Naruto Fanfic)

**4.** Bitter Betrayal (Avatar: Legend Of Korra fanfic ; this one)

**5.** Raising a Bei Fong (Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra fanfic)

Welp, that's it. Found this pattern a few weeks ago. I've noticed that I've been neglecting some of my stories so here, I devised a pattern. Some of you may know these stories and yes, the titles suck. So, that's the pattern. I'll follow this one from now on so expect updates to be like this.

If my story "A Chance?" won't be updated, then no new chapter for "Bitter Betrayal". Now on to this chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Lin Beifong couldn't sleep.

She didn't know why but she felt like something bad happened. She felt goosebumps every now and then as she looked out on the dark street. She heard her mother screaming a short while ago. She sounded upset so she steered clear of her. Bumi came back earlier but her brother wasn't with him. Maybe that was the reason why her mother was so upset. She really had that strange feeling in her stomach, like it just fell a few inches down. Maybe farther. She felt it twist in knots whenever she thought about her mother's screams.

Where _was _Kian anyway? She chose not to think about it, but what if something bad had really happened to her brother? Toph told Kian and Bumi to come back by 9:30 PM sharp. She was confident that her big brother was going to come back by then because he never disobeyed their mom. So the only logical explanation about his absence was an unexpected accident or he could have gotten held up at the store, or he got distracted on the way home (which was highly unlikely to happen as Kian was completely focused at everything, especially if he had a specific goal in mind), or the one she didn't like to even think about, was that he was kidnapped. Abducted. Snatched. Taken Away. From them. Forever. Gone.

Well, no one could blame her. She wasn't dumb. She could certainly put two and two together and she knew that something was terribly wrong. She would have been marked as a lunatic if she said nothing was wrong after she heard her mother's anguished screams and Katara and Bumi's sobs outside her bedroom door. Plus it was already 10:17 PM (she checked her clock) and she knew that wherever Kian was, he won't be back for a long, long time.

But even if she knew all about this, it still tortured her.

Lost in her thoughts, Lin absently reached for the necklace around her neck. It was a gift from their mother. She said her father made it before he passed away. Toph said that he was really excited to give it to her even though she was still inside her at that time. But he never got a chance to give it to her so Toph did the honors.

She didn't know why she only gave it to them when she was already seven years old but she guessed that it might have been really painful for Toph to look through her husband's stuff after what happened. It was surprising, the way she gave it to her. It was the day when they commemorate the day the airship crashed and after they paid their respects, she pulled out two necklaces. Two.

One was for her, and the other was for her brother Kian. They were a pair. Just like the two of them.

The pendant looked like the left half of the Earth Kingdom symbol. She only had that half.

She traced the swirls on the green half pyramid-like pendant. It always soothed her. A habit she developed when she got scared or nervous or sad and her brother was not there to comfort her.

_"Where are you Kian?"_

* * *

Meanwhile, Toph was already scouring the streets in search of her son. Katara was with her, despite her friend's protest. They contacted Aang and Sokka a few minutes ago and they quickly sprang into action.

Aang was supposed to search from above, on his sky bison Appa. Even Momo wanted to help. They both flew at different directions, hovering above the city, looking for signs of Kian or the enemy. They both met up after a few minutes or so to discuss their findings (**A/N: **not sure how, but I figured Aang could understand Momo... I think...) and if they didn't have any progress they would go back to searching and meet up again.

Toph and Katara were to search the city on foot. They made sure to check every store, every house, every alley, even talk to any passerby that they happened to come across with. Toph would stomp on the ground every once in a while to have a wider range of view of the surroundings but she just couldn't locate her son's heartbeat. While Toph was tearing down the city in her search, Katara decided the calmer method of search by asking a few people and checking out every house, store, alley, even niches, calmly and after confirming that Kian was not here, would go and tell her friend that they should check another location, to which Toph would grudgingly agree. Katara often chose moments when she would check suspicious looking places to show up and tell her. Unlike Aang and Momo, they decided to stay together.

Sokka was a different story. He was left with the task to notify the Police Officers about the situation and get as many as he can out there to search. And after they went out to search, he would tell the remaining officers, who mostly consisted of newbies, to be on their guard at all costs and hold down the fort at least until he gets back. And then, after all that, he was to be honoured with the most important job of all.

_Babysitting_

* * *

"Uncle Sokka?"

Sokka looked up tiredly from his almost comfortable position on the couch. "Yes kiddo?"

Bumi took a seat next to him. "Why are you here?" he asked.

Sokka's eye twitched when he heard that question. "Ahahaha..." he began nervously. "Y'see, I was given this task by your parents. They said they needed someone to protect you guys while they're out there searching for Kian."

Well, that was the gist of it. Of course the real incident involved much more shouting, angry words, sarcastic comments, fake drama, and an incredibly hard blow on the gut from Toph. In fact, Sokka was applying a bit of ice to it right now. He might have mentioned that it was bruising.

"You mean they still haven't found Kian?" Bumi asked in a small, fearful voice that was not like him at all. The twelve-year old was usually loud and sometimes a bit obnoxious to the point that it was annoying. But that didn't mean he hated the kid. Nope, everyone loved Bumi for it. Sokka often tells them how proud he is of Bumi and that he reminds him so much of his younger (and also, present) self.

"I'm afraid Kian hasn't shown his face since last night kiddo." Sokka answered.

Bumi's eyes grew wide with fear. "Y-You mean he's... he's gone? Like... Like forever?"

"No! No, no, no, no! Its-It's not like that!" Sokka said quickly. "Man! This is why I don't have kids... " he whispered to himself. He placed an arm around Bumi's shoulders and said, "Well, you see... since it's been a few hours already and Kian hasn't showed up yet so... we'll just assume that he's been taken. Also, his kidnappers hasn't been seen. I mean, usually, in cases like this, someone HAS to have seen them-"

"But I _have_ seen them!" Bumi yelled. "I mean... right before I ran for it." He looked at Sokka with a fearful look. "Does that mean they'll get me too?"

"No. They won't."

"But... But you said-"

"Yes, I know what I said. And what I meant by 'they won't take you' is 'they CAN'T cause you've got the Avatar as your dad, a master waterbender for a mom, a kick-ass earthbender for an aunt, AND let's not forget, the aawesomest, coolest, most gorgeous man in the world who's got mean boomerang skills... _and a really hot wife... _and he'll never let you down, AND also, did I forget to mention that... he's me?"

"Yeah... but Kian was taken..."

Sokka visibly deflated at that. "Hey, I could have protected him you know!"

"Yeah... but he's not here... like now..."

Sokka groaned. "Aw c'mon kid! At least cut me some slack here! I ran from here to the Police Station earlier and back just so I can keep an eye on you kids!"

"But the Police Station is just around the corner... It's really not that far..."

"Okay are you trying to purposely make me feel bad?"

"Nope... This is just for fun."

Sokka groaned again and facepalmed himself while Bumi giggled. Sokka smiled a little. At least he cheered Bumi up for now. He could only thank the spirits that Kya, Tenzin, and Lin were in their beds and not knowing about the grave news. Well, what Sokka didn't know was that Lin had already pieced together what happened from what she heard from her bedroom so she was already aware. Kya and Tenzin, however, were a different story. They were snoring quite loudly in their beds, no doubt tired from their day. Sokka saw no reason to wake them up and worry them. Sometimes ignorance was a blissful thing. But unfortunately, it cannot be avoided. They would still receive the news tomorrow. Most likely from Bumi.

"Alright kid. It's almost eleven. Go upstairs and get some sleep." Sokka said, patting Bumi's shoulder. Bumi got up and made his way towards the stairs.

Before he placed a foot on the first step, he stopped and looked at Sokka. "You're sure they're not there... right?"

Sokka shook his head. "Promise. Besides, I taught you how to fight right?"

"Fight?" Bumi said. "But... but those were with weapons. I... I don't have my boomerang. I don't even have a sword. You said I can't have one. What's the point in teaching me stuff like that if they're useless when I don't have the necessary weapons?"

"Ah..." Sokka said nervously, scratching the back of his head. "I..." _Now_ he knew the reason why Kian was taken so easily. He felt angry with himself for dragging the kids away from Suki when she taught them martial arts. He seriously regretted that now. Toph's going to murder him if she finds out.

"Ahem... anyway... I'm here." Sokka said, trying to comfort Bumi.

Bumi gave him a look that said 'I don't believe you' and crossed his arms. Sokka sighed and reached for his trusty old friend on his back.

"Look... if it makes you feel any better, you can take my boomerang upstairs with you. You've got some awesome skills." he said and handed the weapon to his nephew.

Bumi's eyes widened. "I... Y-You... b-boomerang... me...?" Did he just hear that right? Did his uncle just allowed him to take his most trusty friend and tool with him? To use it in combat no less!

Sokka just smiled. "Go on... I have my sword with me. Plus an insane amount of luck."

Bumi thanked him and went up the stairs, now feeling safe.

* * *

_"S-Sifu Yakone?"_

Kian said, his green eyes widening. The man in front of him just sneered and stepped closer towards him. He lowered his head so that he could look at the poor boy clearly.

"I suppose you've heard of him?" he asked evilly.

Kian indeed knew him. Too many times had he heard the name _Yakone _from his mother's reports, her officers, or her friends. They always said that he was dangerous and that he should run if he would encounter him. His mother always warned him and Lin about what the guy could do (minus the bloodbending part) and how he influences Republic City's underworld. According to her, Yakone was a respected man in the city's lowlife and was well-known by most criminals and fiends, yet many politicians befriend him so that's why it was hard to accuse him of something.

His mother had already suspected that he had a gang and most of her well trained officers are searching for it. Now that he had seen this gang with his own eyes, he doubted that his own mother could take them on by herself. With the Avatar, maybe their chances of winning would increase.

But the sudden appearance of this man who says that he was Yakone's student made it difficult. If he was telling the truth, then he knows everything that Yakone does and that makes him as dangerous as him.

"Listen kid." the man suddenly said. "Your mother did something that's unforgivable-"

"And you want revenge?" Kian said calmly, cutting him off. If he was going to be held as their prisoner or killed, then he might as well fight till the end.

"Brave one, aren't ya?" the man chuckled, although it was not warm and comforting like Uncle Aang's or Uncle Sokka's. No, his was cold and empty. "But... Yes kid. I want revenge."

"And you think you'll get that by kidnapping me?"

"You're just part of the plan kid."

A look of confusion spread on Kian's face. "Plan? Y-You're... you're not gonna kill me or something?"

The man chuckled again and it sent shivers down his spine. "No. That would be too easy. No. I want your mother to suffer, boy. Suffer for all that she's done to all my friends and my teacher."

"But you'll get that by killing me!" Kian shot at him. He couldn't believe himself. He just practically ordered them to kill him. He just begged to die, didn't he? He didn't even want to die yet!

"Nope. I want her to go crazy over the pain. To suffer."

"What are you on about?"

The man grinned evilly. "I'll keep you here for a few years. Then I'll watch your mother go crazy as she desperately searches for you. I'll enjoy seeing her suffer. And..." he cut off dramatically as his twisted grin grew. "In all those years, I'll train you to kill her!"

"NO!"

The man laughed evilly. "Yes! You'll be the one to kill her! Yes! How painful, that must be. To be killed by your own flesh and blood."

"NO! I'll never kill her! Never!"

"Oh... you will."

"NEVER!"

"Look this way kid." the man said, kicking Kian on his back to make him face the huge screen that he hadn't noticed in all the time he'd been here. "Tell me, do you recognize that building?"

Kian looked up and he saw the unmistakable structure of their own house. He could just make out the silhouettes of the people inside. And he could see his sister sitting on the windowsill and looking up at the stars.

"Just one press of of this button and the whole building will blow up. Of course the impact will probably strong enough for the surrounding houses to blow up too, AND if I remember correctly, the Police Station is just nearby, isn't it?"

"No..."

"And..." the man pressed a button on a remote and a footage of Toph and Katara scouring the streets for him. "Just one word, and both of them will die."

"No! No! Don't!"

The man turned around to face him with that sick grin plastered on his face. "So? Which is it?"

Kian balled his hands up into fists as a few tears leaked out of his eyes.

_"A-Alright... I'll... I'll do as you say..."_

_"Good boy. Try to escape or harm yourself and I'll make sure you'll regret it."_

* * *

Toph bolted down the street with Katara on her tail.

When Katara asked her to stop for a while, a couple of officers came rushing past them. One took notice of the pair and told the others to go back. Once they were positioned in front of Toph, they reported that there had been a gang attack downtown and they were currently making their way there.

When Toph heard the word, she immediately remembered what her son said earlier that evening. He said he was going _downtown_. She wasted no time in telling Katara and the mothers took the lead with the officers following behind them.

"This the street?" Toph asked when they arrived. Her officers nodded and she moved forward. Katara followed after her. The officers broke up and searched in opposite directions.

Toph and Katara made their way deeper to the streets.

"Wow... this place looks like a ghost town." Katara commented as they passed the stores and buildings. Toph didn't say anything as she continued going forward. Katara followed her, as always, and looked around for suspicious alleys and dark spaces where gang members or Kian could be hiding. Toph suddenly stopped and she bumped into her.

"Toph? What's wrong?" she asked.

Toph didn't answer her and she suddenly ran ahead. Katara was surprised by her friend's reaction but she collected herself and followed her. She only just saw her as she rounded a corner up ahead. She dutifully followed and was again, surprised when she found Toph standing still, staring at a dark alley. She approached her slowly.

"Toph?What's wrong? Did you find him?"

Again, there was no response from Toph. Katara was about to go into that alley and find out why it was bothering her friend so much when Toph moved and went into the alley first. Katara let her go deeper before following her.

"Toph? What are we doing here?"

Toph suddenly knelt down and started digging through the dirt.

"Er... Toph?"

Toph's digging suddenly turned frantic and a tear had escaped from her eye. Flecks of mud and dirt had splashed on her uniform and her face but she didn't care. Finally, she stopped digging and picked up something on the freshly dug ground. It shone momentarily when the light on a nearby streetlight hit it.

"N-No..." Toph said weakly as tears finally poured out of her eyes. "No!"

* * *

**A/N: **Hello... First of all, I'm sorry for being inactive these past few days coz my laptop broke. And I'm sorry for the short chapter coz I'm only using my brother's computer and this was the only time I could do this, so... Anyway, you know the drill, read... everyone does this part... and REVIEW... not everyone does this...

Do it! Do it! For the next chapter! I am making Toph suffer! She's always crying! Kian's gonna turn evil! Toph's gonna be upset when she finds out! Poor Lin! I love cake! I love Erza Scarlet! I love the anime Naruto! I'm using a lot of exclamation marks! I'm actually enjoying this!


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